An American In The UK – The HONEST Truth About Moving Abroad In Your 40s

Victoria Pearce, the writer behind A Life Away, joins the Expat Focus Podcast to talk about moving abroad after 40. Victoria has lived in the UK twice — once as a young grad student, and again in her 40s with a husband and an 11-year-old in tow. Her story unpacks what it really looks like to uproot a settled life, swap a legal career for a writing one, and rebuild from scratch on the other side of the Atlantic.

Victoria is candid about the cons of relocating in your 40s — selling the house, losing the easy school-gate friendships, rebuilding a settled life from very little — and equally honest about the upsides, including the career confidence that makes a midlife move surprisingly workable. She also discusses the practical side: moving an 11-year-old into the UK secondary school system, navigating GCSEs as an American parent, pivoting from practising attorney to content writer, the strange double life of being an American abroad in a politically turbulent moment, citizenship plans, and the pull of ageing parents back home.

If you're weighing up a move abroad later in life, supporting a child through an international relocation, or rethinking your career as a trailing spouse, this conversation offers a grounded look at what to expect on the other side.

#ExpatLife #LivingInTheUK #MoveToTheUK #USToUK #ExpatOver40 #TrailingSpouse

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00:00 Introducing Victoria 00:34 Why Move Abroad After 40

01:05 Victoria's First UK Move

02:35 Returning Abroad Post Covid

05:09 Cons of Moving in Your 40s

07:45 Confidence and Career

09:21 Decluttering and Moving Logistics

11:48 Moving an 11 Year Old

14:33 Navigating UK School Culture

18:24 Trailing Spouse Career Pivot

21:44 Politics, Identity and Home

27:02 Citizenship and Belonging

28:02 What to Change and What to Love

32:06 Wrap Up

🎥 Video/Transcript – https://www.expatfocus.com/united-kingdom/podcast/an-american-in-the-uk-the-honest-truth-about-moving-abroad-in-your-40s

📝 Show Notes

A Life Away – https://alifeaway.com/

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